Well, I promised that I would follow up with the trip that we would plan again and hopefully not have to cancel. Italy was waiting for us. I reorganized our itinerary in the fall while I was still recuperating from my heart surgery. Slight changes, but all for the better. Rome, Florence, Como, Lezzeno, Belaggio. Schignano, and Milan! Two weeks of Italian bliss. July of 2025 could not come quick enough.
The rest of the year and the beginning of 2025 couldn’t have gone worse than we could imagine. In October of 24, my mother had a horrible fall and severely fractured her femur. It was awful. At 88 years old, the situation was bad. She had two operations to repair the bone. A long rod inserted in her leg with a dreadful looking open wound and additional operations to try to clean out and control a terrible infection. She fought so hard.
While I navigated the holiday season the best that I could, we all tried our best to comfort and help Mom to handle the hospital stays and the time in the Rehab where she would spend her last days. January 5th, we lost an amazing mother, wife ,friend , grandmother, you name it. Elva Keenan was just a wonderful person. Everyone loved her and called her Mom. We would celebrate her life at the end of the month. My Dad was inconsolable. We loved her so much.
Meanwhile, the stress of my open heart surgery, my mom’s passing, the Christmas holiday business non stop work season, and a great friend of mine suddenly passing of a heart attack a week after my mom…whew! The night of Mike’s funeral, I had tremendous pain in my chest and told my Dad that it felt like Mom was laying on me. I tried to relax and take Tylenol, but that didn’t work. The next day, Lori had to take me to the Doylestown ER. The pain was debilitating. The ER was packed, of course, and while I was waiting had to use the bathroom to throw up! I was beginning to pass out on the EKG table while they were checking my heart and the ER tech had the doctor examine me immediately. The doctor ordered a stat CT Scan of my chest and abdomen. Turns out that I had two huge gallstones blocking my Bile Duct. Probably the most painful few hours that I had ever encountered. The morphine was flowing and I fell asleep in the ER. The next morning the surgeon would operate to remove the stones. Lucky me…again.
Around 1 pm the next day I was prepped for my surgery. An ERCP procedure done by a small but scary looking Asian man…Dr. Lee. He had me sign my hold harmless paperwork pretty quickly and in 7 seconds I was out. A few hours later, I ended up in a post op room with a great male, older nurse from NE Philly. Tough guy vibes but a seasoned vet. He came in handy when around 3 AM, I started bleeding out after the closure inside my small small intestine burst and I not only needed to have the Surgeon rushed in at 4 AM, I needed 3 units of fresh blood and platelets infused into me prior to the emergency surgery! OK, Mr. Keenan, let’s count backwards again…10,9,8,7…Goodnight. In our post op conversation, Dr. Lee explained that the closure of my intestine was cauterized but it ruptured since the stones were so large and the incision larger than normal. Lucky me. I was so weak from the massive loss of blood and constantly and continually having to go to the toilet to pass blood lingering in my intestines and colon. For three days! On day four, another surgeon entered my room and informed me that I would soon be prepped to have my Gallbladder removed. Three surgeries in four days!
Ok. Mr. Keenan, count backward, you.know the drill. They knew me well by this time. 10, 9, 8, 7 ,6,5,4,3 2,1…hi girls! “Don’t fight it” they said. “Hit him again!”. Funny, not funny! I was out. But now when I woke up in post op, I looked like a cadaver. Triple bypass scars, tube scars, gallstones surgery holes all around. Very appealing! I spent a total of 10 days in the hospital, lost huge amounts of blood, my Hemoglobin was so low, dangerously low. After my second operation, when I was recovering, I had a terrible breakdown. The likes I’ve never had. I lost it! Crying and sobbing incessantly. A young nurse came in and listened to me and comforted me. She listened the best she could while I cried over my mom, my health. my operations, my cancer. Hit me like a thousand pound boulder, all at once. I needed my mom there telling me that everything would be ok, she wouldnt, couldn’t be. Her mom had passed recently and we cried together. My next meal came with no utensils. Lol! Psyche watch I guess.
Two weeks after my hospital release, my mother’s Celebration of Life was being held after her prior cremation at the funeral home. The amount of people that showed up to bless my mother was over 300 plus. Standing room only, and outside. I was the first and oldest of my siblings to eulogize my mom. I had to sit on a stool during the entire time as my Hemoglobin was so low, and I so shaky still. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. My sister’s followed me and my nieces after. We had a wonderful luncheon with hundreds of people who spoke such beautiful things about her. A funeral fit for Mom Royalty. It was a tough day. A beautiful day. Rest in Peace-Mom.
Epiblog /3 / Finally!
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